Queensland Reds keeping head down as they try to rebuild battered reputation

On the baking training fields of Ballymore, the Queensland Reds are getting down to business ahead of the Super Rugby season.

Senior players are barking orders and urging on their teammates, but that's about the only peep you will hear from most of the QRU as it tries to rebound from a horror year that started with a drugs scandal and ended with just four wins.

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It was a marked fall from grace for a team that became Australia's pin-up franchise when they won the title in 2011, only to embark on a gradual downward slide that accelerated to almost take the wooden spoon last year.

A detailed review picked apart the various failings of the organisation and decided to reinstate coach Richard Graham, despite fans calling for his head. Senior players Quade Cooper, Will Genia and James Horwill have all departed to Europe.

Only way is up: Queensland Reds enforcer James Slipper. Photo: Scott Barbour

The result has seen the Reds take a "best seen and not heard" approach as the first trial before the Super Rugby season approaches, with captain James Slipper saying fans needed to know players were burying their head at training in an effort to turn around the decline.

He said they hadn't set any benchmarks – such as finals football – and were simply trying to reconnect with each other and a fan base that will demand a sharp improvement despite the departure of hundreds of caps after the World Cup.

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"We've been driving that [head down approach]. It's important. There's no substitute for hard work and that's what we're seeing here at Ballymore," Slipper said.

"It creates that natural bond and we've been working on that. We need to make sure we're ready to go come the end of February. It's a new squad, there's a lot of enthusiastic players. People want an opportunity to play for the Reds."

Slipper's body took plenty of punishment in a hectic World Cup year and he remains in the rehab ward as he recovers from shoulder surgery, which should have him returning somewhere around the middle of the season.

He's been working closely with veteran physio Cameron Lillicrap and returning high-performance coach Damian Marsh, who was at the Reds from 2009-2013 when the team began its rise to the top of Super Rugby.

Along with the recruitment of coaches such as decorated former All Black Brad Thorn, Slipper believes the pieces are being reassembled behind the scenes for the Reds, whose biggest challenges revolve around forward depth and playmaking options.

"We're trying to move forward but there were areas all over the organisation that we could have improved on. We've come a long way. It wasn't one certain area and this year I think we're doing that [moving forward]," Slipper said.

"We're going to be in better physical and mental condition. We won't be playing 60-minute games.

"But we're not looking at finals at all. We just want to find our identity and build that up again. It all starts at training. I don't think it's necessary to put some sort of target out there for the year."

The Reds are also gearing up for the arrival of Japanese World Cup star Ayumu Goromaru, whose signing has caused something of a media stir in Japan, with journalists ringing the QRU multiple times daily trying to glean information about his movements.

Goromaru will be an interesting case as he tries to adjust to Super Rugby but brings some quality goal-kicking, which may just scratch an itch the Reds have been suffering with for a few seasons.